The Rose Curse
by Elizabethornton2016
Summary: In a world that is divided, magical crowns were created to keep peace. Rose, a handmaiden to the princess Ebonia, goes on a perilous journey to defend her own crown. She ends up finding more than just power, and more than what she ever bargained for. Rated T just to be safe, some violence as the story progresses, nothing intense.
1. Chapter 1

One spring day, as I was wandering through the gardens with the princess Ebonia, she asked me what my dreams were. I answered by saying that I had never thought about it. She could tell I was lying, yet she didn't push me. She knew me well enough. The princess would tell me often about how she wishes she could marry whomever she wanted. Not some stuffy old prince, but a prince from any of the neighboring kingdoms would be more than enough for me. I rarely get annoyed, especially with friends, but Ebony had a tendency to complain. Frequently. About her status, about how she was to marry royalty for alliances, and worst of all, how she has to do a million dress fittings for her bejeweled dresses. I would gladly take it all. Her words snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Tomorrow night is the ball, you know. Is there any man that you have had your eye on?" I could feel myself turning pink.

"Not specifically, what makes you say that?"

"Oh, nothing. Although, I will have you know that I have some connections with the staff." I couldn't help but laugh.I doubt she had more connections with the staff than me. They are their own community, and I knew most of them very well, since I grew up with them. Ebony playfully nudged me,

"I dream for you to find a husband almost as much as I dream for myself to find one."

"Maybe we can have a double wedding." I joked.

"We actually have to find dates first." she said. That would be the hard part.

Later that evening, as I was getting ebony ready for bed, I could have sworn I heard a muffled thud from the corridor. It was as if someone had been watching us, but when I went to investigate there was no one in sight.

Ebony showed no signs of having heard the sound, so I dismissed my theory with enthusiasm. As I turned to the hallway, ready to leave, Ebony called out to me.

"Rose! Thank you."

I turned toward her and smiled, "my pleasure."

I briskly walked out of her humongous bedchamber and started off towards mine, not wanting to take any chances with the mysterious sound. Turning corner after corner, I came upon a large sitting room filled with royal paintings. I saw a painting, one of my favorites, of Queen Umber Sidney III of Mangrail. She had rosy cheeks, long blond hair, teal eyes, and held a book in her hand. Nothing too surprising, but there was a symbol on the cover that made me curious.

A rose as red as blood.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'll try to update as often as possible. This is my first fanfic, so I'm still figuring things out. Constructive criticism is happily welcome, and I would love it if you guys gave me some reviews. :) Thank you so much for reading and enjoy.**

It was the day of the ball, and all of the foreign princes were coming to the kingdom. The only excitement was coming from the servants, they always got excited about these kinds of parties. Ebony and I, on the other hand, did not. We both knew what prince we wanted to sweep us off our feet. We both knew we would never get him. It was not possible, because she wanted a commoner and I wanted a prince. Her family had always urged her to pay attention, because her next husband could be in attendance. I would constantly try to cheer her up, especially right beforehand. "So, I heard there is a prince coming that no one has seen before." I started.

"Mysterious," Ebony said sarcastically.

"You need to cheer up! Look, I know you have no interest in any of these princes but you need to give them a break. They want to be at the ball about as much as you do." Ebony rolled her eyes, "I know, I just wish I could go into the village. I want to see what else is out there. _Who_ else is out there. So help me, I will not stay cooped up here my whole life. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I asked father if you could come to the ball. He said he would be pleased to have you."

My shock left me speechless. "There is less than three hours until the ball! You're telling me this now?!"

Ebony sighed, "Three hours is more than enough time. Don't be so dramatic."

"Beauty takes time. I don't even have a suitable dress." I said.

" Now that is where you are wrong."

I groaned, "I can't possibly use one of your fancy dresses. I am merely a handmaiden." No matter how unfortunate that was, I will not take someone's charity dress.

"I simply cannot go." I sighed sadly. "But thank you so much for the offer. It was nice to imagine."

She smiled, "Well, stop imagining silly. I have notified our current predicament to the seamstress, and you have yourself a new dress." There was a loud knock at the door, and I felt my excitement growing.

A young ginger haired woman peeked her head through Ebony's large bedchamber. "I have 2 ballroom gowns?"

"That would be us." Ebony said. The seamstress made her way inside, with two servants trailing behind her holding our dresses. She explained the details of our dresses to us, and we were about to burst with excitement. The servants still had them covered up by a black sheet and the suspense was killing me. I didn't even care what they looked like, It was more than enough that I was getting my own dress. The seamstress kept talking, mainly to ebony. "I chose yellow and navy as the colors for you, princess. I thought they would compliment your brown eyes and dark hair, and for your handmaiden-"

"My name is Rose." I stated with my arms crossed.

"Oh, well then… Rose, I chose a dark red for your dress. It should do well with your pale skin and blond hair. I didn't think to incorporate the color of your eyes, though. Now that I think more about it, your green eyes would have gone very well with a darker blue."

I smiled, "That's fine, it's more than I could ever ask for already."

"Alright then. Here are your dresses," she pulled the black sheets off the dresses in a mystical fashion. I gasped, my dress had a sleeveless dark red top, with golden jewels embroidered in a swirly fashion around the waist. It fell out into a huge red and golden tulle skirt, with different golden jewels set around it. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on, and it was all mine.

Ebony's dress had a short sleeved yellow lace top, with a navy blue waistband. Her skirt was yellow, with navy swirls embroidered into it. "Let's put them on and see how they look!" Ebony said excitedly. Overcome with eagerness, we quickly dispersed to different rooms to try on our dresses. My dress fit like a glove, and I still couldn't believe I got to go to a ball. Usually I would stay in the princess' room until the ball was over, and she would tell me all about it. This would be my first opportunity to attend a ball. That reminded me, "Ebony!" I shouted in a panicked voice. "What is it?! Does the dress not fit? I was so sure-" I cut her off, "No, the fit is perfect! I have no idea how to dance!" It wasn't like I had any real desire to learn before now. I had seen Ebony dance at her lessons, but I was only watching. I had never tried it for myself. I heard Ebony sigh loudly on the other side of the wall, "Alright. Let me think." she paused and I waited in anticipation for the next 5 minutes. "Okay, Rachel!" she called to one of the servants who had held our dresses moments before. "Tell christophor we require his assistance immediately!" Christophor is the stable hand, but he is known throughout the castle for his waltzing. If anyone ever had a desire to learn to dance, Christophor would be the person to teach you. I heard the maid scurry off to fulfill Ebony's wishes. In the meantime, Ebony met me in her bedchambers' sitting room, and I could see that someone had brought in an extra vanity for me. Ebony and I sat side by side while the maid's swarmed around us. They pulled my long blond hair into a braided crown across the top of my head, and laced red roses with golden tips into different parts of the braid. I looked over to ebony, and her mid-length brown hair was put into an elaborate braid falling over her shoulder. A tiara made of small blue diamonds was placed carefully on top of her head. I have to admit, I longed to have a crown of my own.

Apparently, there was a lot that had to be done makeup wise. Usually I just wore mascara and occasionally lip gloss. The maids had to match my skin tone to the varied concealers and foundations. Once that was done, they put dark red blush on my cheeks, and another shiny makeup I didn't know the name of. I got golden eyeshadow and thick black eyeliner, and the mascara had specks of gold in it. The finishing touch was dark red lipstick that was soon glossed over with lip gloss that was even more red, If that was possible. I shined brighter than the morning sun.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so excited to be posting chapter 3! I've been working on this one for a while, and I had a great idea for a cliffhanger. I will try to post chapter 4 and possibly 5 at some point this weekend. I really appreciate you guys reading my fanfic, and I would really love to hear what you think about it in the review section. Enjoy! :)**

My admiration was interrupted by a loud knock at the door, " It's Christophor, I was told to come immediately?" Ebony ran to the door and welcomed him inside. His eyes immediately flew to my shadowed form in the corner. I stepped out in a shy demeanor, and quickly nodded my head towards him. "Mr. Henshaw, good to see you"

He quickly returned my nod, " you as well, Ms. Landale." My eyes locked with his, and my mind flashed through our history. More like the lack thereof. He is one of the only men in the castle that I hadn't taken out on a date, and I believe he is still slightly offended by the fact. Ebony cut through my thoughts and stepped between our staring contest. "There is one hour and 30 minutes left until the ball, and Rose has no idea how to ballroom dance. We appreciate you coming so soon, but now that you're here you need to do your job." He chuckled, "So I should just go back out to the stables?" Ebony glared at him, "This is your Job for the time being, and there is limited time for it to be done, so you two need to stop staring into each other's eyes, and hurry." Rose and Christophor quickly stepped away from each other. "We weren't- " he started. Rose cut him off, "-staring at each other. We were not staring. Let's get started."

"Ok then, let's hurry on to the throne room. This room is far too small for dancing." Christophor stated.

"And you are the expert?" I snapped. Ebony quickly intervened, "What rose meant to say is, we'd be delighted. You can lead us." With that, we walked to the throne room in complete silence.

We reached the large throne room used by Ebony and her family. There were 4 thrones in a large range of sizes. Ebony's throne was farthest to the left, and the king and queen had theirs in the middle. Her 17 year old brother had a dark blue throne on the right hand side. Ebony and I are both 19, and we always liked to mess around with Aaron because he was younger.

"I'll go sit in the corner and watch." Ebony said almost in a whisper. She rushed away to her throne and started lounging.

Christophor took my hands in his and pulled me into the middle of the floor. "So to start, you place your right hand on my shoulder, and your left hand holds your dress."

I moved toward him and put my right hand on his shoulder. He put his hand on my waist and I flinched. He eyed me suspiciously, noticing my hesitance. "So you're going to dance in the shape of a box." We began moving back and forth in the shape of a square. "There you go, you're getting the hang of it." We kept dancing for another 10 minutes, and I was starting to enjoy myself. Until he started to make conversation. " Is it true that you've dated many men from around the castle."

"Possibly, why does it matter to you?" I said back.

"I couldn't help but wonder why I was not included in the 'many' category."

Of course he noticed. I had dated enough of the castle staff to know just what type of man he would be. 'Let's run away together. You know I can't put down roots at this castle.' No man wanted commitment, and I was tired of trying. Plus, he was dating someone else at the time I considered asking him. "I don't want to have this conversation."

"Would you like to go out with me Rose?" He asked sincerely, holding out his hand.

The nerve he must have had to even ask me. "I already said no."

He had a pleading look in his eye.

"I don't know why I even agreed to this lesson." I huffed, spun around and left him standing there wide eyed. "Wait! Rose!" His voice echoed throughout the room. I barely heard him, for I was running so fast. I tripped over my dress numerous times, and cautiously slowed to a walk. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and spun around, my dress twirling with the movement. " I told you to go away." There was no one in front of me. It was then that I realized how dark it was in the corridor. "Hello? Is someone there?" I said warily. There was the shuffling of feet around the corner, and then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so excited to be on chapter 4. I definitely overlooked my time management ability :) but chapter 5 will be coming soon. I wanted to give a shoutout to Dream Plane, Thank you so much for the kind review. I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far! I love getting reviews, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to comment. Constructive criticism is always welcome, and enjoy the story!**

I felt weightless, as if I was in a dreamless sleep with no end in sight. As I floated in the darkness, a memory pulled at the back of my mind. I was 10 years old, and I was running around by myself. I ran inside a room made of red stained glass. It shattered and I screamed, the memory fading into a new one. In this memory I was 6 years old and my mother was still alive. One night as I was going to sleep in the maid's chambers, I saw my mother walk in. She had just gotten the former princess ready for bed. We had a one room suite, with my mother's bed in the corner and my cot on the floor. I liked to pretend I was asleep, but secretly watch her. This night was different, however. I saw a worried look on her face as she got ready for bed. She laid down in her bed twirling something between her fingers. A red rose, with a letter attached in golden ribbon. She put it on the bedside table, and closed her tired eyes. After 20 minutes, I heard her soft and steady breathing indicating she was asleep, so I snuck out of my cot to read the letter.

_One day she will rule, and take her place. A rose as her symbol, the picture of grace._

My eyes shot open and ebony was standing in front of my crumpled form. I immediately sat up, but quickly laid back down due to the head rush. Ebony knelt beside me, "what happened?"

I slowly sat up with help from the wall. "I have no idea, I was running down the corridor and I heard something around the corner, and next thing I knew I was out." I said in one breath.

"Um… okay." Ebony said with a questioning look in her eye.

I gasped, "The ball?!"

"You didn't miss it. It only started 5 minutes ago, and your hair and makeup look great. Your dress as well. Not a speck on any of it, and we can call our delay being _fashionably late_." Ebony assured me.

"Good." I said, sighing with relief. Ebony helped me up, and I dusted myself off. I saw something fall to the floor and bent down to pick it up.

"what is that?" Ebony said with curiosity.

"It looks like a Rose. I hadn't noticed this before, it must have been caught in my dress."

Ebony shrugged, "no reason to worry about it now. We must be going."

I couldn't help worrying about it a little. Roses seemed to be appearing everywhere, and I could find no connection between the appearances.

"Care to join me?" Ebony called down the hallway ahead of me.

"Of course! Sorry!" I had to walk fast to catch up with her. Once I was at her side, she nudged me.

"You left Christophor standing there heartbroken. The poor thing. And he said he had to be somewhere. That's why he didn't assist in finding you, If you were wondering."

"I was most definitely not." I honestly would have liked to have him chase after me. One could say that I am a hopeless romantic, but I prefer the term _romantically invested._ I assume he was not interested in spending his night chasing after me.

I looked over towards Ebony and her eyebrows were raised, "Oh, forgive me, who would take interest in the charming, young stable hand Christophor."

"Please, don't patronize him." I sighed.

Ebony gawked, "your disinterest astounds me, honestly Rose." I rolled my eyes but didn't have time to say anything. We had arrived at the doors to the ballroom. I collected myself and took a deep breath.

"Ready?" Ebony asked, putting her hand on one of the large door handles.

I put my hand on the other door handle, "Definitely."

We stepped into the large ballroom, and found ourselves at the top of a large set of stairs. There was a long blue velvet walkway entering into the center of the dance floor. There was a large golden chandelier in the center of the room, and people adorned with jewels clustered around each other whispering. Everyone was staring at us. We whispered our names to the herald, and he announced us in a booming voice, "Now announcing, Princess Ebonia Elizabeth Meghan Marie of Mangrail, and her companion, Ms. Rose Renee Landale." We slowly walked down the staircase, excitement overwhelming me. I had never been so happy. Until I locked eyes with Christophor.


	5. Chapter 5- The ball

**Sorry for the long wait! I was having some technical difficulties with posting, but I think that I finally figured it out. In this chapter we meet some new characters that will be super important going forward, and it took me about an hour to name them. So here we go. Thanks for the awesome reviews Dream Plane! As always, enjoy! and please review. It really means a lot to me and it inspires me to keep writing.**

**…****.**

I glanced at Ebony to see if she noticed. She looked back at me nervously. "Did you know he was coming?" I whispered frantically. Ebony shook her head. "No."

I quickly got my act together, realizing that I was too far in too retreat now. I followed Ebony around while she talked about politics to the surrounding groups, stalling for as long as I could. We approached a particular group made up of two girls and two boys. "Sam! Aura!" Ebony called, trying to get their attention. I tried to pick out which ones I thought Sam and Aura could be, my thoughts directed to the only blonde haired duo out of the four of them. Their hair had a red tint to it, and they shared a set of green eyes that lit up when they smiled. They both grinned and waved back to Ebony. She led me over to their group and Ebony introduced me to each of them. My previous thoughts were correct, Sam and Aura were the strawberry blonde haired siblings, and they were close family friends with Ebony. Sam looked about 22, and Aura was my age. I put together different pieces of information throughout our conversation. Kace, 21, and Alesia, 18, both had caramel brown hair. Alesia's hair was in long thick curls that ran down her neck and fell to the sides of her face. Kace's hair was Straight and styled at a swoosh on his forehead. Aura kept glancing at Kace with a gleam in her eye, and I couldn't tell if they were a thing, or not.

"Rose! It's so nice to meet you." Aura exclaimed with a curtsy.

I curtsied back, "The pleasure is all mine." Sam and Kace both gave me a low bow, and Alesia gave me a small curtsy. She didn't seem as enthusiastic as her friend, Aura. "I don't think I've seen you around. Oh wait, you're not a noble, are you?" Alesia said in a fake sweet tone. I was taken aback by her comment, and I must have shown a glimpse of my uncertainty on how to react. "That's a terrible thing to say, Alesia!" Aura exclaimed, coming to my defense. The boys just watched with blank expressions.

"It's alright." I said calmly, not meaning it even a little bit. "you are correct Alesia, I am not a noble. I am princess Ebonia's handmaiden."

Ebony smiled, "And a great one at that."

We sat in awkward silence for a few minutes until Kace spoke up. "Is this your first ball?"

I smiled, "It is."

"Would you like to dance with me?" He asked kindly.

I flushed, " Are you sure?" I had just realized that my dance lesson was unfinished. Hopefully I remembered enough to not trip over myself.

"Certainly." Kace assured me holding his hand out.

"Alright then, it would be my pleasure." I put my hand in his and saw Sam take Alesia's hand. We walked to the middle of the dance floor and I felt a heat rise in my cheeks. I couldn't tell if it was from nerves or how handsome he looked in his regal jacket that was adorned with military honors. He put his right hand on my waist and his left hand on my shoulder. "What was it Christophor taught me to do?" I thought. I couldn't remember and started to panic. I kept searching my memory, and it all came flooding back to me. Kace was staring at me curiously, and then music struck up from the orchestra quartet in the corner of the ballroom. He began to twirl me around to the music. In my peripheral vision I saw Alesia and Sam twirling around Kace and I. I looked over to where Ebony was standing only moments before, and she was nowhere to be seen. I shrugged off the fact of her disappearance and assumed she was off getting a drink, seeing as Aura was still standing in her spot from before, watching Kace and I with a jealous gaze.

"Have you lived here your whole life?" Kace questioned snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, my mother was the handmaiden to the queen until she... got sick and passed away about 10 years ago." I replied.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He said softly.

I smiled, "I've made my peace with it. What about you? Did you come from one of the neighboring kingdoms, or have you been a noble here your whole life?" I asked curiously.

"I used to live in the kingdom of Harpensgale until the disaster 6 years ago. We transferred here to be part of the noble union to the Mangrailian king."

"I see. Well we are happy to have you in the kingdom." I smiled politely.

"I am happy to be here. Has anyone told you how lovely your hair looks tonight?" He asked.

I instinctively put my hand up to my golden braid and smiled. "No, I don't think they have."

"Then let me be the first." The song ended and Kace walked back to where he stood before with Aura. Sam and Alesia were still dancing, and I moved to a different corner of the ballroom next to a potted plant. I watched Kace's behavior with Aura curiously, but they were just laughing and talking. I didn't want to intrude on any relationship they might have. The last thing I needed was to create drama between Aura and I.

"Rose!" a familiar voice whispered harshly from behind the plant.

I spun around, "what in the world are you doing behind a plant! This is a ball for heaven's sake!"

She glared at me, "I'm hiding. From a man that I really don't want to dance with."

I gave her a hard look, "I don't want to dance with Christophor, but I'm not hiding behind a plant."

She gave a muffled laugh, "That's different."

"How?"

She paused and smiled at me, coming out from behind the plant. "Because he really wants to dance with you."

"Oh, quit. You're being ridiculous." The last thing Christophor would want to do is dance with the girl that walked out on him only hours before. Not to mention my embarrassment from the incident. "Now who is this man that has made you hide behind a pot?"

"It's that foreign prince you were telling me about earlier. He keeps looking in my direction, but I really don't want to dance with him, or anybody for that matter. I actually think I'll just be going-"

Ebony started to walk off but I grabbed her arm.

"Nope, if we have to dance with people that we don't want to, we're going to do it together. Also, you're the crown princess of Mangrail. If anyone had the choice to leave, it would be me."

Ebony groaned, "don't remind me. I just-"

She paused and her eyes widened. She started mouthing something to me but I couldn't understand her.

"Why the confused look?" An all too familiar voice said from behind me.


	6. Chapter 6- continuation of The Ball

**Thank you Empressakura and Dream plane for the reviews! It always makes my day when people review so don't stop now! Sorry for the late post, but I'll be posting a lot more often now. I'm home all day every day for the next two weeks so... yah, check back for more updates because they will be there. I liked writing this chapter a lot, christophor… or Kace? That is the question. If you guys are already shipping people, put your ships in the review section. I would love to hear what matches you guys make in the review section. Please review and Enjoy!**

**…****. **

I turned around and flashed a fake smile and a mocking curtsy, "Christophor."

"Rose, fancy seeing you here." He gave a short bow.

"What are you doing here?" I said abruptly.

"I could ask the same of you."

"You knew that I was coming." I said, practicing my glare on him.

"Yes, well, it seems you're not the only one who gets sudden invitations to balls. Our friend Aaron here invited me to be his plus 1 to the ball this evening. I decided to surprise you. Oh and let me apologize for not coming after you when you threw your temper tantrum." He said matter of factly. I had just noticed the prince standing next to him and gave an impressed look.

"I didn't know you had friends."

Ebony stepped between us, "You two need to stop attacking each other. Just get along for a few hours and then you can go your separate ways. Right, Aaron?" She looked at Aaron who had his gaze set upon Aura across the room. Aaron snapped his head towards ebony as if he was coming out of a daze. "I'm sorry, What was the question?"

"Ok, watch how it's done." She said taking charge, and walking away from us. I never in my entire life expected her to do what she did next. We all looked at each other in pure amazement. "Is she-" I started.

Christophor has his mouth hanging open, "Yes, she is."

Ebony was having a conversation with the foreign prince across the room. Aaron, who had his gaze fixed on Aura again, didn't even notice what his sister was doing. I looked back towards Ebony and saw her pointing between me and Christopher. She then pointed between herself and the prince and directed at the dance floor. "Fine" I mouthed while rolling my eyes. "We should probably go dance, just to get Ebony off our backs." I murmured with fake enthusiasm. I put my hand on his arm and we walked to the middle of the dance floor next to Ebony and the prince. I was watching them closely to see what was so bad about this prince. I saw him say something to Ebony and she laughed. It took me by surprise because it was real laughter. I wouldn't call myself an actor, but Ebony and I have a great fake laugh. We actually practice together each week. Ebony and I have been close since we were little and her parents consider me family. They let me eat dinner with them, even though I am of lesser class. A lot of times those dinners include large delegations from surrounding kingdoms, forcing me to socialize. And laugh at their less than funny jokes.

The orchestra began a new song that just happened to be a slow Mangrailian love song. I felt my cheeks redden as I saw every man dancing around pull his partner closer. With the exception of Ebony and the prince, of course, and her cheeks were almost as red as mine. Of course this song plays when I do my obligatory dance. Christophor seemed just as visibly annoyed as I was, and he made sure to keep his distance from me. Although, he seemed to feel awkward dancing without talking so he started a conversation at a low whisper:

"Kind of weird how this song plays when we're dancing together, isn't it?" I guess it was kind of weird but not really. I twisted my face into a questioning look,

"Why do you say that?" I asked, trying to make sure we were both on the same page as to why this was a weird occurrence.

"Don't you remember? The wedding?" He said laughing.

"Oh, yah!" I said laughing along with him, "What were we, 13?" Ah, the wedding. It was the marriage of one of Ebony's second cousins to some foreigner. I volunteered to help serve tea and cakes at the reception, and Christophor happened to be there handing out the gift baskets. When the newly married couple invited anyone who attended to come dance, 14 year old Christophor asked me to dance with him. As we were walking to the dance floor, his servants' coat got stuck on one of the square wooden tables with a shimmering golden tablecloth. His coat took the entire tablecloth with him and we never got to dance. We cleaned up the mess to the mangrailian love song that was playing right this very moment. We were still laughing so hard that the head maid had to come shush us.

"I'm sorry." Christophor said hurriedly.

I looked at him and smiled appreciating the gesture. "It is very much alright. I'm also sorry for completely embarrassing you back there with Ebony and her brother."

He laughed and nudged me playfully, "If that's what you want to call it. And I humbly accept your apology." As he smiled down on me, I really wanted to move closer to him. It would be a daring move on my part, but why not? It seemed to me like we had made up, unless I had gravely misread the situation. The song would end soon, so I had to make up my mind, and quickly. I shuffled closer to him and gently laid my head on his chest. He pulled me even closer and we continued dancing. He was significantly taller than me, so when I looked up I saw his tousled auburn hair and deep brown eyes. He kept locking eyes with me, and as I looked deeper into his, I noticed a fire that I hadn't noticed before.

We stayed that way for the next 4 songs and then it seemed that the ball was over. As the last song ended I lifted my head off of his chest but his hand held firm in mine. I grinned at him,

"I have to go now, Christophor. Hopefully we'll see each other soon."

He let go and kissed my hand, "Until we meet again."

I laughed heartily, "Ok, Christophor, there's no need to be so dramatic. Goodbye."

He waved as he made his way up the large staircase and I waved back. A grin was still plastered on my face when I realized that I was the last person left in the room. I really hope Ebony just went back to her bed chambers. Perhaps she and the prince went on a walk around the castle, and I didn't catch her leaving. She would most likely be in her room, so that's where I decided I would go. I quickly left the ballroom, hurrying to solve this mystery.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7! The past few chapters haven't been that exciting, but starting at the end of this chapter, things should start heating up. Up until now I didn't really know where the plot was going, but a few days ago a light bulb went off in my head and I basically figured out the plot for the rest of this fanfiction. So I'm super excited to keep writing. Thank you Dream Plane and aaw0407 for your reviews! Enjoy this chapter and keep reviewing! :)**

**…**

I turned corridor after corridor and saw the usual paintings like before. No hidden roses in any of them. I checked. My situation could not get any more peculiar. I had been thinking a lot about last night when I passed the painting with the rose book, how had I not noticed it before? I decided to take a slight detour to Ebony's room and see if my eyes were playing tricks on me last night. The lighting in the hallway was dim even when I turned the corner, so I had to hope that I was in the right section of the castle. Of course I knew it like the back of my hand, but it was too dark to tell for sure where I was going. I grabbed a lit candlestick from the wall and tried to hurry my pace. I didn't like wandering the corridors at night. Nothing had ever happened, but the darkness was never my favorite thing.

I finally stumbled upon the portrait hall, and scanned each carefully. I found what I was looking for, and much to my dismay there was no difference from the previous night. I moved my hand up and brushed the acrylic book. The rose looked painted on by someone who was in a hurry. Up close it was less of a rose and more of a deep red blob.

_Oh well, this mystery will just have to go unsolved for the time being. I'm on a mission._

I walked on, passing the throne room on my way. I remembered the way that I danced with Christophor at the ball. And the way I danced with Kace at the ball. I really hoped I didn't seem interested in any of them. Christophor and I were friends again, and Kace danced with me once. Only enough to call ourselves acquaintances. I think.

…

I was so worried about the ache in my legs from tonight's adventures, that I forgot to look where I was going. I ran right into something, or shall I say someone...

"I am so sorry!" I exclaimed. Aura rolled her eyes when she thought I wasn't looking, but quickly changed her expression to a smile.

"No harm done." She quickly put her right hand behind her back and I heard the crumple of paper. I would ask her what it was but I had a more burning question.

"What are you doing in this wing so late at night?"

"I got lost coming back from the ball. It really is a confusing place." she said, giving a quick smile and looking down. She was fidgeting with her pale pink dress, her right hand still behind her back.

"It is easy to get lost." I assured her.

"Yes, especially when I've never been here before." She said. She flinched, as if she said something she wasn't supposed to.

"Definitely. Even I get lost sometimes." I said, playing along.

"Good to see you, but it's getting late, I really must be going." She said, moving past me at a brisk walk.

"Yes of course, have a wonderful evening!" I called.

"You as well!" She called back from where she had advanced down the hallway with her head down. How strange.

I had finally made it to Ebony's room. My room was right across from hers, and I was tempted to curl up in my bed and sleep. It had been a long tiring night, and I didn't want to think about Christophor, Kace, or anyone for that matter. But, It was my job as a handmaiden and best friend to Ebony to see the verdict on the prince. I knocked on the large oak doors of Ebony's room 3 times, and heard her cheery voice.

"Come in!"

This could not be good. No one is that happy at midnight. I walked in and she still had her ball gown on. She was leaning against the bedpost with a huge grin set on her face.

"Rose! You won't believe what happened?!" She said quickly, like she had way too much sugar. I groaned,

"yes?"

"I'm in love with Charles!" She said, flopping onto her bed. It bounced beneath her.

"Who is charles?" I asked.

"Only the most, sweet, kind, handsome human being who ever walked this earth."

"I think that is a bit of an overstatement." I murmured. "Wait! Is Charles the foreign prince? You're in love with royalty. You know that right?" I asked, gaping. She hugged her pillows to her chest.

"So?"

"Well, I thought that you hated princes. All of them." At this point I was the one leaning against her bedpost, my tiredness getting the best of me.

"I changed my mind. He wants to meet me at the gazebo in the gardens at midnight tomorrow." Her smile was so big it looked like it would break her face.

"Are you going to go?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I? I asked him how long he was staying, and he said he didn't know yet."

"Wow."

"So what's going on with you?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Christophor? You two were dancing." She said, raising one eyebrow.

"Oh. We're friends now."

"Friends?"

"Oh, quit it, would you? Yes, friends."

"What about Kace?"

"Also friends. I made a lot of friends tonight."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing." She said, folding her arms.

"Alright. I have a question."

"Is it about who I think you should choose." She said quickly, with giddy excitement. "I'd be happy to tell you my opinion on the subject."

"What?! No, stop it. I need you to be serious. Just for a second." I scowled.

"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "How may I be of service?"

"Is Aura interested in Kace?" I asked, biting my lip. Ebony squealed loudly,

"Wouldn't you like to know!"

"Yes. That's why I asked." I said, giving her a massive eye roll.

"No, Kace is currently unaffiliated." She said.

I turned around and smiled to myself. So, I wasn't intruding on any predetermined relationship. Good.

"Just so you know, my parents really wanted to be here. They had to travel to Charles' native kingdom for a delegation meeting. They're working on foreign relations, but they won't need to if Charles and I work out." She smiled and her eyes shone.

"I understand, give me their thanks for the invitation. I had a wonderful time." I smiled.

"Of course! I'm so glad that you could go."

"Me too." I started to get Ebony ready for bed, but I still had one last question pulling at the back of my mind. I was wary to ask it though, and I fought with myself until I was in her doorway. I turned back and asked her, overriding the non-nosy part of myself.

"Ebony?"

"Yes?" She had a book open as she lay in bed. How she could read this late at night still amazed me. Did she ever run out of energy?

"Has Aura been to the castle before today?" I asked. Ebony laughed,

"Why, of course. We've been friends since before you and I became friends. I wouldn't be surprised if she could guide me through the castle with her eyes closed."


	8. Chapter 8

**I kept forgetting to update, but chapter 8 is here! It's one of my shorter chapters, bit I promise I will make my next chapters longer. Thanks Dream Plane for your continued support! I really enjoy getting reviews, so enjoy and please review! It makes my day!**

I tossed and turned all night, having dreams of roses and mysterious red objects. Of course it was a nod to my name, but it felt like something more, a deeper meaning. It was creepy to think that someone was stalking me, but it had to be an insider. Someone who was in the castle, and knew their way around. Of course, what Ebony said about Aura made her a suspect, but what would be her goal? She barely knew me, and she was so kind when Alesia was not. Alesia did not take kindly to me being at the ball, but Kace was such a nice person. This was all too confusing.

I sat up in bed to see light creeping through the windows and groaned loudly. If only I could go back to bed, but once I was awake, I was awake for the day. The bed squeaked loudly as I stood up and I looked down on it. It didn't matter how friendly I was with Ebony, I never got the best things. My room was smaller than hers, but it was bigger than my mother's old room in the servants' quarters, so I would take what I could get. At Least I had a window that I could see the gardens through. I walked over to the window and pushed back the drapes, only to find an empty garden. Perfect for me to read a book.

After I got ready for the day I walked out to the gardens and walked around for a bit. My favorite part of the whole castle was the gardens, especially the gazebo in the middle. There were vines that climbed to the very top, and those vines were covered in flowers. Each one was different, as if the entire garden twisted together in this one place, creating a massive centerpiece. Once I made it through the maze that the royal family called a garden, I found myself at the gazebo and sat on the iron bench. It was painted white, but was chipped from years of use. Some would think it creepy, but I thought of it more as serene.

I opened my book, which was about kingdom economics, and turned to the first page. Right as I went to open the book, a piece of parchment slipped out and flew to the floor. I peered over the side of the bench to find an envelope that was stamped with a red, wax rose. Rolling my eyes, I bent over to pick it up, and smoothed my hand over the rough paper. As luck would have it, the name on the envelope was mine, written in fancy cursive letters. It was thick, as if it had more than one letter inside of it, or perhaps one very big letter. I opened it slowly, careful not to make any unnecessary tears. When I looked inside I found two letters and pulled the first one out. It read:

My dear Rosemary

They are coming for me as I write this, and they are not to be trusted. You must do exactly as I say. Come back to the kingdom with your brother, but come on foot. They will tell you to leave but you must stay, and do not believe them. Power is not the same as control, and if you make the wrong decision you will lose everything. I believe in you, the fate of the kingdom lies in your hands. Be careful, and I know that your mother raised you with wit. Use that to your advantage.

Whatever you do, do not stop and smell the roses.

The letter ended there. I had no idea who it was from, and I had no idea who would write something as vague as this. I looked toward the other folded up piece of parchment. It said "open first", no wonder the letter didn't make any sense. I carefully opened the letter and found that it was written in different handwriting, as if the author was in a hurry.

Rose,

We must leave at dusk tonight. I will explain everything in due time, but first I need you to meet me at the entrance to the castle at noon. Do not tell anyone, not even the princess, We don't know who is to be trusted.

Sincerely,

Prince Charles.

Ebony's prince Charles? Well I guess he wasn't Ebony's per say, but why was he sending me notes? I decided to meet him at the entrance to find out what was going on, but it was necessary to tell Ebony. Of course she could be trusted, she was my best friend. I got up, stuffing the contents of the envelope back into their original spot. I was past the point of being careful. I had to know what was going on and if these creeps wouldn't tell me soon, I would find out for myself. Walking down the steps of the gazebo, I made my way down to the castle entrance near my room. I walked to my quarters at a brisk pace but immediately stopped when I heard silent sobs coming from the room across from mine. Ebony's room.

I slowly walked up to the door and pushed it open to find Ebony sitting on a sofa in her room with tears rolling down her eyes. I ran over to her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's my parents." She said softly.

"What about them?"

"Their carriage ran off the road last night on their way to the foreign delegation. They're dead." She said between sobs. I stood there gaping at her.

"Does that mean?" I started.

"I'm queen now." She whispered, not even trying to mask the fear in her voice.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9! sorry it took so long, hopefully the length of this chapter will make up for the time spent writing it :) Thank you Dream Plane for the awesome review! I just wanted to let everyone who is reading this that for the first 8 chapters the rating was K+ but I just changed it to T for mentions of death, just to be safe. As the story progresses (In further chapters) there will be some mild violence, nothing drastic. but I will warn you at the top of said chapters before you start reading. Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this and as always, Review! Review! Review!**

I sat down next to her and put my hand on her shoulder, right as a light bulb went off in my head. "Give Aaron the crown. He would love to be king."

"I couldn't do that to him. I am the heir, and I have trained my whole life for this. I must do my duty to Mangrail. I need to show the people that I won't flee at the first sign of danger." She said, sucking in a breath. At least I knew that her personality wasn't lost in this ordeal. Her selflessness shone brighter than ever and even though her parents were gone she wouldn't see the kingdom crumble.

"I'm so sorry, Ebony." I said in the softest tone possible. She looked at me with grief in her eyes.

"They're gone. I will never see them again. It's truly unbelievable. I keep expecting them to walk through the doors at any moment, or show up at my parties. I didn't even take our last goodbye seriously, I had no idea it would be the end. That was the end." She started crying again, and I started rubbing her back.

"It wasn't the end. You're still here and you're strong, it's the same with Aaron. You have each other and that will have to be enough. All that your parents would have wanted is for you two to be happy and for you to continue their legacy. You can conquer, Ebony, and they knew that. You're going to be a great queen." I whispered.

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always right." I said with a smile. Ebony gave a stifled laugh, wiping the tears off her face with her sleeve.

"Aaron has no idea." She said. I hated that she would have to go tell him but I had to be at the entrance of the castle by noon.

"Do you want to stay here and we can send him a piece of parchment?" I asked.

"No. I want to tell him in person, and I should probably get to him before word gets around. I have no doubt that the messenger who gave me the original letter snuck a peak. You know how some people are, they will happily give the latest gossip in exchange for goods." She started to stand up and walked to the door slowly.

"I'm sorry again Ebony, they were wonderful people and I know this is not easy for you. If there's anything that I can do just let me know." I hated saying it and not knowing if I would actually be there. I was not planning on leaving the castle at night with a complete stranger, so at least the offer was somewhat valid.

"Thank you for saying that." She hugged me tightly and wiped away a few straggling tears.

"Of course." I walked out the door by her side and we went our separate ways. There was a grandfather clock at the end of the hallway close to my room and it said that the time was 11:30. I began my walk to the castle's main entrance.

There were guards around every corner and they seemed to be swarming since the letter about the King and Queen arrived. Ebony must have been right about someone reading the letter and spreading the word. It was weird that the guards were more protective now though, Ebony's parents were killed in a crash, not anything mysterious. I shrugged it off and continued my walk until I met the large room with the entrance. I didn't expect Charles to just come marching in to the foyer, especially with the added security. I could only imagine how shady it would look for a servant and the prince of another kingdom to have a hushed conversation in the middle of a room. I saw an old tapestry in one of the corners of the room near the double doors and went to admire it. Right as I walked up to it a hand extended from behind and put a hand over my mouth, pulling me behind the tapestry.

I squirmed and the scent of chestnut tingled my nose as the mysterious personage placed me in a hidden crevice in the wall. It was small, only big enough to fit 4 people at most, and deeply shadowed. I couldn't see who had grabbed me because of the strange lighting, and I seemed to have forgotten the reason I came to the entrance in the first place. The person took their hand off my mouth and I was ready to give them an earful.

"What do you think you're doing!?" I shouted to the shadowed figure, I stamped down hard on their foot, ready to escape.

"Ouch! Be quiet! The guards will hear!" The person said in a harsh whisper. The voice was deeply accented and it was then that I realized this person was from another kingdom. I scrambled into a deep curtsy.

"Prince Charles, I am so sorry. I didn't realize that it was you." I whispered, glad that he couldn't see how red my face was.

"It's alright. We don't have much time, so I need you to listen carefully." He didn't even wait for me to respond before he went at it. "I am your twin brother." He paused and waited for my reaction. I gave a strangled laugh and quickly covered my mouth.

"I'm sorry, I just- no." I said quickly. After I processed what I had just said I mentally facepalmed. "That doesn't make any sense." I whispered.

"But it's true."

"With all due respect, I don't believe you." I was about ready to dart out of there. It was starting to become more and more clear that this Charles fellow was a psychopath.

"I'll give you proof. Our mother's name was Evangeline, and you never met your father. And how would I have gotten you the letter from him if I was just a random man. He told me to give you the letter upon his death, and well- He died a few days ago." He said quietly. I was so confused, how was he a prince if he was related to me? And I had never met my father how could he be dead?

"You have a lot of explaining to do." I said.

"So you believe me?"

"I'm not sure yet. But I think I would like to hear you out." I said. He let out a relieved sigh and ran his hand through his dirty blond hair.

"You have no idea how good it is to hear you say that. I'll start from the beginning but I have to make it quick. Our parents weren't married when they had us and our father was the crown prince of Achillea. We were twins and our grandparents did not know of either of us. When they found out they were furious, and only permitted the king to keep me because they thought I was born first. Our mother ran away to this kingdom with you because our grandparents- they sent out a kill order for you two. They didn't want the kingdom to find out that the prince broke the rules and got away with it.

"They had to set an example, and they used you two. Long story short you both escaped and our grandparents really know how to hold a grudge." A million questions were racing through my mind. After a few seconds of stunned silence I chose the question that was pulling hardest in my mind.

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"You're our queen and your crown is waiting for you in Achillea. Please. The law is that after the death of a king or Queen, if the heir doesn't take the throne in a week, the previous royal can take it. Our grandmother."

"What about our grandfather?" I asked.

"He passed away years ago." That was the last of the most burning questions, which made room for all of the information to come tumbling in. My father was gone and I had never met him. My grandmother was out to get me. I was a queen. It suddenly became hard to breathe in our little crevice in the wall, the panic hitting me like a brick.

"I-I can't- I don't- I have no idea-"

"Hey, It's going to be fine. I'll be by your side the entire time. Please breathe, it would look so peculiar if I had to end up dragging you out from behind a tapestry." He whispered, holding my elbows to keep me steady. His last sentence earned a laugh out of me and I felt my panic subside and my breathing regulate. "Will you come with me back to the kingdom?"

"Can I have some time to decide?" I whispered.

"I truly am sorry, but we do not have time to spare. Father passed away on Monday night, and today is Friday. If we leave at dusk, it is a two day journey by horse and we will barely make it in time. Trust me, you do not want our grandmother to rule." He said. His Achillean accent came out stronger when he was emphasizing a point, and it was very easy to distinguish during the last sentence.

"I'll do it, on one condition." The words escaped my mouth before I had fully thought them through. Charles seemed elated,

"And what would that be?"

"There is someone that I would like to bring with me. Can I bring a friend?"

"It may cause us some trouble at the border, but I bet I could persuade the guards, I am the prince after all." He seemed hesitant, as if the border guards were people that we didn't want to mess with, but if he said it was possible, than it must be.

"One more thing."

"Oh?"

"You have a date with the princess tonight. Were you just planning on blowing her off? Her parents just died, you know." I saw horror etched across his face.

"The king and Queen are dead? It seems we have more trouble on our hands than I first believed." He mumbled. I was too concerned with him standing up my best friend to process what he had said.

"So, the date?" I pressed.

"I'll figure something out." He said. That would have to be enough for now.

"Then it is settled. We leave at dusk, meet me in the gazebo. We can exit through the back door and I can get us horses from the stables."

"Are you sure you can secure us horses?" He asked.

"Definitely." I responded with a smirk. I knew just the person to ask.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10! Finally. also just reached 400 views, so yay! and 10 reviews! so thank you to everyone that has reviewed (and viewed), it may not seem like a lot, but it feels like a lot to me, so keep it up! I have a really awesome plan for chapter 11 so I'm going to start writing right now and it will come soon. Thanks again to every one who reads this fanfic! Please review! **

"So, will you come with us?" I asked. There was a flicker of amusement in Christophor's eyes. I think he was wondering why he was th eonly one I asked. He was a friend, and it wasn't like I could ask Ebony to come. He leaned up against a rough wooden fence and stared past me. I didn't even know if he was listening.

"Where are you going, again?"

"Achillea." I said.

"Why are you going to Achillea?"

"Why are you asking so many questions? I already told you everything." I said, rolling my eyes. I was hoping that I would get an easy yes, but that didn't seem to be the case. His body shook with laughter.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"You're very amusing when you're annoyed."

"Well, I'm glad that you take joy in my annoyance." I couldn't help but give a shy smile myself. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"I just don't think I understand why you're going. From what I've picked up, you don't seem like the type of person to leave everything behind so quickly. You usually play it pretty safe, am I right?" He raised his eyebrows toward me.

"Not exactly. I usually follow my gut, and my gut is telling me that I should follow him. I'm tired of being a servant." I said. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm just starting to get bored." I added quickly, afraid that I had offended him.

"I have a feeling you're going to regret leaving. In my gut," He chuckled but I just rolled my eyes. "If it's not all it's cut out to be. It's not easy being royalty." His eyes were far away, but he suddenly snapped out of his daze. "From what I've collected."

"Either way, if I don't go now my grandmother will take the throne. From what Charles was saying, that is not going to be a good thing. She sent out a kill order for me, Christophor. I was just a baby and I was completely innocent, but she wanted to kill me. I don't think anyone like that should lead a kingdom. Ever."

"You make a valid point. If you want to go, you should. I'm not here to stop you, but you have to realize that if you leave without telling Ebony. We have no telling what she will do. She's the queen now, and her parents just died, so you leaving like this could have consequences. Very big ones."

"How do you know that?"

"Know what?"

"That the king and queen are dead."

"Word moves around very quickly in this castle." He said. How did everyone already know that her parents were dead?

"Interesting. Now back to you, will you be coming with us?" I asked. I was eager to know his answer. Now that he had questioned my motives, it was my turn to question his. His face twisted into a pained grimace.

"You know that I would love to-" He started, but I quickly cut him off.

"But you can't." My shoulders slumped in defeat at his curt nod. "Why can't you?" I asked, putting no effort into hiding my dismay. He looked over to one of the horses, gliding inside its fence.

"I have a job here that I need to finish." He said. I also heard him mumble something about not wanting to finish the job underneath his breath. I didn't want to press him any further, this would have to be my adventure.

"I guess that's it then." I whispered.

"I guess so." He looked me over. "You should come back soon. Be sure to bring a guard, though." He said with a grin.

"Why?"

"Because I have no doubt in my mind that Ebony is going to rip your throat out if she ever sees you again."

I gave a nervous laugh.

"Hopefully she won't hate me that much." I said. "Do you think that you could get us two horses without anyone noticing?" I asked, biting my lip.

"That shouldn't be too hard. When do you leave?"

"At dusk."

"I'll leave two horses tied to the fence around the corner, they don't belong to anyone in particular, so no one will notice that they're gone." He said. "Be careful."

"I will." We didn't know who would fill the long stretch of silence after that, so I gave him a hug and left. I couldn't help but turn my head around, and I caught him staring after me. There was a glint of sadness in his dark eyes, and I knew that I would miss him dearly. There was also something inside of me, telling me to turn around. Much to it's dismay I kept walking forward towards the castle. It was easier to act like I was doing the right thing, even though I had no idea.

What I said to Christophor about following my gut wasn't a lie. Even if it was just a question of what dress I would wear that day, I always followed my gut. It hadn't wronged me just yet, but I had a feeling it would. It was telling me that I shouldn't tell Ebony that I was leaving because she would hate me anyway. My head wanted me to tell her because she would be less mad. And my heart, well it was still caught up on Christophor. Stupid heart. He kept popping up in my head no matter how hard I tried to stop thinking of him. And if I was going to make it through a two day journey without turning back around every 5 seconds, I needed to be absolutely sure that I was making the right decision. If there was one.

I stood staring at my closet and my eyes went immediately to my ball gown. Something warm was trickling down my cheek and it took me a second to realize that it was a tear. I wiped it away, not yet ready to let the fact that I was leaving for good seep in. There was no way a huge ball gown like that would fit in my satchel, so I focused on the necessities. I folded a few dresses and nightgowns into the bag, and everything else that I would need. I could always make more clothing if it came to it, so I had everything for the journey.

I laid out across the bed and stared at the beautifully painted ceiling. It was adorned with red roses that, unlike the ones I'd seen lately, had always been there. It always stumped me that my favorite rose was the one that looked the most dangerous. It was all tangled up in the others and it's thorns were noticeably sharper, but I always found it appealing. There was something alluring about a fragile flower that could draw blood with a single misplaced finger.

Ebony's parents had them painted on the ceiling for me when I was given the room. They were always nice like that. They were nice like Ebony. Christophor's earlier words had a certain sting about them now, about Ebony being furious. All I could do was hope. Hope that Charles was telling the truth, and that Ebony would understand why I had to leave. Hope that my grandmother wouldn't try to have me killed on sight when I arrived at the palace, and I had to hope that Christophor didn't like me too much, because I wasn't planning on ever coming back. I was tired of second guessing myself, so I made a decision. This was it, my chance to have a new life, a new social class, and more family than I had before. I was going to take it before it fell from my grasp. It wasn't hard to sleep after that because my mind was made up. We left at dusk.


	11. Chapter 11

** I am so sorry that it took so long! This chapter ended up being a filler and it was hard for me to write. And I was so busy. I wanted to give a shoutout to Taylor swift's new album, because it gave me the motivation I needed to finish this chapter. And to my cousin, who reads each chapter and always asks me when the next one is coming out. I get up and stop watching Netflix to write the story whenever you text about it lol so thanks for the motivation! :) And, Please review! It always makes my day! **

"How could I forget it!" I shouted, rummaging through my bag. My horse was moving carefully forward, not bothered by the movement.

"We're in the middle of the forest. Please be quiet so that we don't attract any unwanted attention." He whispered. Then his face stretched into a smile. "You forgot your food and water, didn't you?"

I crossed my arms, "Possibly."

"I brought enough for both of us, don't worry." He chuckled. I rolled my eyes when he turned away. It was usually my place to be the prepared one, it was hard to shake off the insecurity.

"So tell me about our grandmother. What's her name?" I asked, eager to change the subject. He cleared his throat.

"We aren't supposed to say her name out loud. Most people use it as a derogatory term in the kingdom, after her rule."

"What do you mean? It's not like she can hear you."

He scoffed.

"She can hear every word people say?" No wonder everyone was terrified of her.

"Not in the way you're thinking." He assured me, but that only confused me more.

"What other way is there?"

"I'll explain later."

"No. I'm following a prince that I barely know into the forest in the dark, and he won't give me any answers. It's not too late to turn around." I pointed out. Charles looked back and I knew that the castle was still in view.

"One more question."

"Do you promise to tell me the truth?" I pressed.

"Was that the question?" He smiled.

"It's actually about our father." I stopped to take a breath, ignoring his stupid joke. "Was he like our grandparents? Did he want me dead?" I whispered. Charles looked at me with pity.

"Stop." I commanded.

"What did I do?"

"I don't want anyone to pity me. There are too many worries in the kingdom for you to add mine to the list. Please. Don't worry about me, or pity me, or be concerned for me." The last thing I wanted was to be a burden to anyone. I felt that way ever since my mother's death. People would try to help by bringing dinner, but I knew how to cook. Friends would try to keep me company, but I knew how to keep myself company. Ebony was the only person that I wanted to have as a friend, but even though she was the best, there was a wall. It was put there because of our class, and I had to learn how to be my own best friend. Charles pursed his lips.

"Alright then. No worry, pity, or concern from me."

"Thank you, that means a lot to me." It really did. That was my number one rule in life. I accepted help from no one. There was even a voice telling me not to accept the ball gown from Ebony. I ignored it that one time, though. The chance to have my own ball gown was too good to pass up, and the gesture was too kind.

"I was just surprised that you would think that. He sent you away to keep you safe. He would talk about you constantly, and he was extremely stubborn. He refused to die until he talked to you. Unfortunately, death had other plans." He sighed. "I was sitting by his bedside on his last night, and I could tell that something was wrong. He was too sick to talk in more than a whisper. 'I should have never sent Evangeline to Mangrail.' Then he looked me right in the eyes and said that you would understand this next part. 'There's a piece of the puzzle that we're missing. Nothing in life is even.' He just kept repeating that until his last breath." Charles finished.

My father really did love me. I thought my entire life that he had cut off communication because he didn't want me, or that he was already gone. I was so caught up in my relief that I didn't think about what Charles was saying. Nothing in life is even.

"What do you think it could mean?" I asked.

"I don't know." He responded. My eyes trailed to the forest around me and I thought about it. Was he talking about class? Or something more?

"Can I ask you one more thing?"

"I said one question."

"Why aren't you sad about the king's death?" I asked, anyway. Charles sighed.

"I am. You would have loved him. He always tried to evade our grandparents, but they always wanted a say in everything. For a long time before he died, he told me that I couldn't let you rule like him. He wanted to ensure that we wouldn't fall into our grandmother's traps. I am sad. But he would have never been happier than to know that you're accepting the throne." He said. At least I could please someone. I imagined Ebony going to my room to find it empty, not even a note left behind.

We kept moving through the forest at what felt like a snail's pace, but soon enough, we stopped for the night. The trees had thickened the farther we dove into the area, but they opened out into a scenic lake. The water looked shallow enough, so I went over to wash my face. I had already eaten dinner, so I decided to unpack my sleeping pallet and put it by a tree. Charles had done the same thing, and we didn't know what to say after that. We ended up just falling asleep without talking at all.

He shook me awake when it was still dark outside, and I didn't appreciate it.

"We have plenty of time!" I argued.

"We don't, actually." He pulled out some bread and two apples and handed me one, plus a few slices of bread.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Our conversation ended there, yesterday we had gotten along so nicely, but now it just seemed awkward. I focused on the lake in front of us and pretended like it was the most interesting thing in the world until he was ready to go.

The rest of the day was slow and unexciting, but I enjoyed the scenery. I had put different flowers in my hair as the day wore on, and Charles found that quite amusing.

I could feel us getting farther away from Mangrail as we rode and there was a voice in my head saying that I should have told Ebony that I was leaving. A wave of regret hit me and I groaned.

"What's wrong?" Charles asked.

"I'm a terrible person. I should have told Ebony I was leaving. She's never going to want to be my friend ever again." I couldn't believe my idiocy. "Why would I even think that was a good idea? I tried to be a good person for such a long time, and a good friend. But I ruined everything, and she's never going to be my friend ever again, and I've made such a fool of myself. She's probably going ballistic, going to my room and finding it empty. And who's going to tell her that I'm not coming back?" I started stroking the neck of my horse, my head still resting on the lower part of it.

"Okay. First of all, calm down. Second of all, she's going to get over it and you're going to start having tea parties every week. And it's going to be great." He said with fake enthusiasm. I glared at him.

"It doesn't work that way. Have you ever had friends?" I asked.

"Of course I have friends! We're actually in their territory right now."

"These friends of yours aren't aggressive, are they?"

"What? No! Look. The point is, she'll understand. As long as she's not the heir-"

"Wait, what do you mean she's not the heir?"

"Is she the heir?" He said, his voice panic- stricken.

"She's the heir." I said.

"She's the heir?"

"Yes, But what's so bad about that?" He became more rigid in his saddle, and I could feel his worry emanate from where he was sitting.

"It's not bad." He stated. It sounded like he was convincing himself more than me.

It was dark a few hours later and that marked the end of the second night. I fell asleep, thinking about what I left behind. It was too late to go back, and that was the only comfort I had.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12! So I hope you enjoy, and I apologize for how long it took me, I keep saying I'll be better and quicker, but it just hasn't happened yet. Maybe some time, though. This chapter has a bit of violence, it just mentions blood, because I'm really bad at describing it. I finally hit 500 reviews! Yay! Thank you Dream Plane for the reviews and for any of my new readers, (and all readers) it seriously makes my day when you review, even just a good chapter or something super vague would make me really happy, so keep reviewing! Thanks for reading!**

I woke up the next morning to Charles, who had his hand out trying to hand me a piece of bread.

"Is bread your very favorite food?" I asked. I was nibbling on the corner of the grainy meal.

"What would you rather have, my queen." He stood up and gave me a deep bow.

"It's alright." I stood up and curtsied. "Bread is lovely." He snickered. "Bread is lovely. I'd never thought about it that way."

"You were the one that wanted to play royalty." I glared. He started laughing and I soon joined in. For the first time since leaving I actually felt happy.

My happiness lasted for about two seconds. The sun was beating down on us and I was pretty sure I had already drunk all of Charles' water, although he seemed fine.

"How much longer do we have until we reach the castle?" I asked. I was soaked in sweat, and I couldn't remember when it had gotten so hot.

"I don't know for sure. Probably a few more hours. Now, when we get to the kingdom there are a few things you need to remember about our grandmother."

"She hunts her grandchildren down for sport? I had almost forgotten."

"You're hilarious." He said. "Wait. What was that?" His horse stopped and I heard a twig snap close by. I didn't even have time to process what was happening. When I saw the arrow coming right towards my face, I barely had time to breath. Before I knew it I was on the ground, but I wasn't hurt. My face was fine. Every part of me was fine, but our horses had run off.

"What just happened!" I looked around wildly for Charles and I heard panting around a tree trunk that was right in front of me. No. I crawled around it and there he was. An arrow sticking out of his arm. There was red soaking his white cloth shirt sleeve. "Tell me you didn't just take that arrow for me." I whispered.

"Of course I took the arrow for you!" It was his turn to roll his eyes. "It was coming right for your face!"

"What part of no help do you not understand!?" I Shouted. Panic was rising in my throat because I didn't know how to help him.

"Don't panic. We'll figure something out." He said.

There were more twigs snapping and our heads whipped around. It was getting closer. Charles reached for his boot with his good hand and pulled out a jagged piece of metal. It was a dagger. It wasn't the smoothest, but it was definitely the prettiest I had ever seen. There were metal leaves and vines that wrapped around the handle, and the hilt was a shiny gold.

"I don't know how to use a dagger!" I whisper-shouted.

"Figure it out, Rose! I'll just sit over here and bleed out while you think through your options." He said. I huffed and stood up. Best to make it quick. I couldn't tell where the snapping had come from, but there was a large grove of trees a few yards away from us. I sprinted into the middle of it and looked around. No one.

I was walking in a circle, clutching the vines of the golden dagger until my knuckles turned white.

"Hello?" no answer. I cleared my throat. "I think you may have shot my brother with an arrow. By accident."

By accident? The only person I'm intimidating is myself.

I raised my head, still walking inside of the trees. Charles' time was running out.

And then I felt something sharp prick the back of my neck.

"You're right, it was an accident." I didn't dare move my head. "I meant to hit you." My breath caught in my throat. It was a woman whose voice didn't sound familiar. I reared my heel back onto her toes and could feel her jump back, the sharp item no longer on my neck. I dropped into a squat right as an arrow flew over my head and hit a tree in front of me. I looked behind me and saw the swish of a plum coat behind one of the trees. And then there was a knife pressed to my throat. How did she move so fast?

"Do I know you?" I asked. My voice came out shakier than I had wanted it to.

"Not that I know of." She responded. "You seem scared." It was like I could hear her smiling.

"Unfortunately for you, random stranger girls that try to kill people don't scare me." I said. She pressed it harder into my neck and I felt the blade's sting.

"That is rather unfortunate." She agreed. I was scanning my brain for anything that I knew about fighting. I knew nothing. But I had remembered something from a book I had read once. My hand moved, and grabbed her small wrist with the knife in it. I twisted it and flew underneath the window of her arm. Pinning her arm to her back, I grabbed the dagger from her hand and put it to her neck. It was charles' dagger. I hadn't even realized it was missing.

"Where did you get the dagger?" I asked. She pressed her lips together as if to say that her lips were sealed. I pressed the knife closer to her throat. I didn't like hurting people, but she had shot Charles. She finally opened her mouth.

"I picked it right out of your hand. I'm not surprised that you didn't notice, you didn't see the arrow coming at your face either."

"Why did you aim for me?" I asked, ignoring her insult.

"You're from Mangrail. I heard your accent. You have some nerve showing up in my territory." She scoffed.

"Well you have some nerve trying to shoot me in the face with an arrow, but here we are."

"So if I didn't hit you, what did I hit?" She asked, annoyance clear in her voice.

"The prince of Achillea." I said slowly. I thought that if I dragged it out it would have the dramatic effect that I desired. It did the job perfectly. She gasped, almost like she was in pain.

"Is he alive?" She asked.

"I am alive and thriving, Scarlett. I had almost forgotten how good of a shot you were, too. That would have been a shame." Charles said. He came walking through the grove of trees, clutching his left arm in his shirt. It was soaked with red and his face was as white as a ghost. I had no idea how he was still conscious. "Let her go, Rose. She's a friend. I doubt she meant to hurt either one of us. Right?" He raised his eyebrows toward the girl named Scarlett.

"I would never try to hurt anyone, you know that."

"She's lying!" I exclaimed. My mouth was wide open. What did he know?

"Stop that. Let her go, her neck is bleeding." Charles demanded. He looked at me with narrowed eyes. I hadn't even realized her neck was bleeding until I saw the red running down to the hilt of the knife. I stopped clenching the knife so hard and pulled it slightly away from her throat. "Drop the knife." Despite losing so much blood, his voice was strong and unwavering.

"No. She's going to come at me again."

"Trust me." Charles said. Scarlett was smiling.

"You should trust him. It's starting to sting."

"Fine." I went to pull the knife away from her neck and she spun out of my grasp. I could finally get a good look at her. Scarletts hair was pulled into a long caramel braid cascading down her shoulder. Her skin was a light brown, and her eyes were mesmerizing. Literally.

"Rose, I wouldn't look her in the eye if I were you." Charles said, but it was too late. I heard a ringing in my ears and it felt like my brain was disconnected. I wanted to look away from her eyes but they wouldn't let me. I didn't even notice the crown on her head. She was a princess. It was a deep purple, just like her eyes. I had never seen purple eyes before and it looked unnatural. Like she was possessed, but at the same time, doing it all by herself. And then I came out of the fog that was consuming me. She was still staring at me intently, like she was trying to stare into my soul and find out my secrets.

"What did you just do?" I asked. She snapped her head to the side and blinked a few times.

"Charles. Why isn't it working?" Scarlett asked.

"Why isn't what working? What are you trying to do?" I asked. Scarlett gasped and ran over to Charles, who was lying on the ground.. He was white as a piece of parchment and the movement of his chest was the only indication that he was still alive. I ran over to him too and shook him.

"Wake up!"

"I'm taking him back to my castle." Scarlett said. I opened my mouth to argue with her, but she kept talking. "He needs help and you're still a few hours away from the Achillean castle. I'm not sure why you're going and I'm not going to ask, because Charles is going to die if we waste any more time. But I'm going to tell you right now, whatever relation you have to him, it's not worth it. Let him deal with the crown, because you're not royalty. I doubt a crown would even fit on your head, and I'm also not sure why Charles is refusing the crown. His grandmother will kill anyone who gets in her way.

Charles is too stubborn to give up but I've already told him my opinion. Go back to Mangrail. I don't like to ask questions, but I'm trying to help you. I can tell him that you got scared, or that you changed your mind." I stared at her, and she raised her eyebrows, confident in her offer.

"No." I didn't like the idea of her taking Charles away from me, especially knowing that he could die. He was propped up limply on Scarlett's broad shoulder and that sealed the deal.

"You have to help him, though." I said. I made a promise to him, and I had to keep it. "I've left too much behind for this."

"But you'd rather go back than die, wouldn't you?"

"I'd honestly rather die than go back. If I go back to Mangrail the queen's going to kill me anyway." I said.

"I'll help him, I promise." She said. "Don't say I didn't warn you, though."

"I won't." I glanced at Charles one last time. It was one of those glances where you hoped that they could feel the weight of what you were going to do, just by feeling your gaze. I was going to do this, and show Scarlett that a crown would fit on my head quite well.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey Guys! I'm so sorry for the hiatus! aaaaaahhhhhhhh, I didn't mean to leave the story like that, but it happened. And now hopefully I'll be better about writing. So here is Chapter 13, I'm super excited. I honestly don't have a plan for the next chapter so we'll see where that takes me. And yah! Thank you Dream plane and snarewolf2954785! you reviews were awesome! I know I keep asking y'all to review me but reviews seriously make me so happy. So even if it's just like wow good story, or even like you misspelled 'Rose' or something I just like seeing how many reviews I get. (Constructive criticism only though please haha) So yah. Please enjoy! I have like 15 plot twists for the rest of the story so y'all better get ready and keep reading! P.S. I want to give a shoutout to my cousin who always listens to my plot ideas no matter how random or bad they are! You're amazing!**

It had gotten cooler, yet my hands were still sweating. I kept telling myself that there was nothing to worry about, but there was. I didn't have any information on my grandmother, only that she didn't like me. I hoped that she would change her mind when she saw me. Maybe she would think me different from my mother. Then again, it's possible that she would hate me and try to kill me again. Anything could happen at this point. Although over thinking it wasn't doing me any favors at all.

"Hello…" I started. I realized that I didn't even know her name. Maybe if I curtsied, she would enjoy the respect.

"I've come for the crown." I tried again. It sounded too demanding. " I've come to accept the crown." I said. Much better.

I was coming upon a hill, hoping that past it was a castle. And there it was. The forest had stopped short and there was green everywhere. It was like the entire kingdom was the castle garden. I smiled to myself, it was even more than I could have ever imagined. There were colorful daisies and clovers scattered everywhere and the sun was shining brightly. Every house that expanded across the kingdom was made of multi colored stones. They were more like cottages than houses, but it looked beautiful all put together.

I could see the sunset hanging over the cottages, with people milling around the kingdom. The castle was the best part. It was a large estate that had the same stone designs as the other cottages. There were humongous vines cascading down and around the stone castle. From a distance it looked a bit like the Mangrailian castle, just newer. It looked like a fresh beginning. I rode my horse down the hill, and the anticipation was killing me. I made it to the entrance to the village that was the border of the kingdom.

The roads were small and definitely not meant for horses. Each street was more of a sidewalk. Other than that, The first thing I noticed was that some men and women had blue flowers on them and others had red. The women wore the flowers in their hair, and the men wore theirs clipped to the cuffs of their shirts. The ones with the blue flowers walked around with their heads down, and had smaller baskets in their hands. The ones with red flowers danced around the square, grabbing their partners and spinning with smiles on their faces.

One black haired woman with a red flower woven into her hair, bumped into a woman with a blue flower in her hair while dancing. The blue one immediately turned around and started screaming at her. A few people started to swarm. The blue woman punched the red in the face, and a blue man joined into the fight. The smartest decision I decided was to keep riding. I could see the fight continuing in my peripheral vision and couldn't believe that this was normal behavior. Almost all spectators kept up with their normal business. Trading, buying, selling, and doing whatever they were supposed to be doing.

With the fight long behind me I could see the castle up ahead and turning back didn't seem like such a bad idea at this point. If I went back Ebony would probably only ignore me for a few days and then everything would be fine. But then I remembered exactly who I was doing this for. Charles, and my father. They kept telling me that my grandmother was a terrible person, and up until now I believed them. But I decided to save my judgement. She deserved that at the least.

I had finally made it to the road leading up to the large estate-like castle. There was a beautiful bridge that expanded across the glistening moat. The water had a haunting appeal to it. Like magic.

There were solemn looking guards lining every edge of the two small doors and they were all staring straight ahead. They looked menacing and I didn't know how I wanted to approach this. It wasn't like I could just march to the guards and demand they let me in. Or maybe I could.

"I request an audience with the interim queen." I announced. None of the guards flinched.

"I request an audience with the interim queen. I've come for the throne." I repeated, louder this time. I heard a snicker from the guard right in front of me. I dismounted my horse and handed him the reins.

"I will get into this castle by any means necessary even if I have to climb the walls. Now let me through the doors. And keep the horse safe." I said. He narrowed his eyes.

"What business does someone like you have with the queen?" He asked. He was a burly man with light red hair.

"I already told you. I've come for the throne. Tell her that Rosemary is here to see her." The guard had his eyebrows together contemplating whether he should let me in or not.

"I'll talk to the head but I won't make any promises." He handed me back the reins to my horse and walked around the corner. It was almost 10 minutes when he came back and got out a set of keys. "I doubt you're going to be coming back out so I'm going to lock it behind you." He said. "I'll find somewhere for your horse, though."

"Comforting." I mumbled. I gave him a smile and my horse's reins and walked across the drawbridge. Into a new life.

…

I was met with a large foyer. It smelled like the forest and was stuffy, I could barely breathe. There were spires with vines twisting up them. There were beautiful flowers in each vine and birds were flying over my head. Birds? This was less of a castle and more of a glorified greenhouse.. The floor was golden marble and there were designs etched into the stone. It was breathtaking. Breathtaking enough for me to get distracted from the actual point. Where was the throne room? There was the sound of a staff hitting hard ground and I knew that I was getting closer.

I walked through one of the doorways and right into what looked like a meeting. There were people with regal golden robes sitting around in pews. There was a giant walkway right down the middle of the grand room. My eyes scanned the walkway and met the eyes of an older woman sitting atop a high throne. She had soft eyes and gray hair. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head that was sure to be giving her a headache. Her dress was long and it flowed down from where she was sitting. The steps that led up to the humongous throne were covered in emerald green silk, which was all part of her dress.

When she stood her dress moved with a swift grace and her eyes turned cold.

"You are interrupting an official meeting. What is the meaning of this?" She asked, staring me down. I stared back, trying hard not to blink.

"My name is Rosemary." I whispered. There were gasps from all around the room. "And I've come to take your throne." The Queen smiled at me.

"It would seem you're a bit too late dear. The heir to this throne ran away the second his father died."

"He ran away to find me. I hate to break it to you, but I'm the first born, and Charles didn't desert his throne. It wasn't his to take in the first place. It's not yours either." I said. She walked down the steps and sauntered over to me.

"You have no proof." She spat. She was right. How had I forgotten?! Charles knowing my mothers name might've been enough for me but it wasn't for the law. And then out of the corner of my eye someone stood up and the queen turned around.

"Evangeline gave me their birth papers before she fled." The man said. He was holding a large folder and opened it.

"Sit down, James!" The queen shouted.

"But I have the proof she needs." He walked down the aisle to us and stood in front of me. He had black hair that was tousled and glasses that seemed to be slipping down his nose. He was probably in his early 30's and he was staring at me with hope in his eyes.

"Your father gave this to me the night before he died. Almost like he knew it was coming." he said.

"That's ridiculous! Let me see that." She said. She snatched the papers out of his hand and her face slowly turned white. "Impossible! They're fakes. Forged by the rebels!" The Queen yelled so that the rest of the golden robed people filling the pews could hear.

"Rebels?" I asked. The queen scoffed.

"You have no business being here. Leave at once."

"No."

"Then I'll have my guards remove you from the premises." I could probably fight her if I had too but I couldn't make any promises about the guards. There was a glint of gold from the corner of my eye and it was a small woman who had stood up.

"Show us the papers, Victoria." The woman said.

"You don't need the papers, it's a lie." She snapped. "It's too late, anyways. The deadline already passed.

"No it hasn't." Someone shouted from one of the pews. "You have your days wrong!" There were murmurs of support from all around the throne room. The petite woman that was standing next to the Queen grabbed the papers and held them up for everyone to see.

"Is that the late king's signature?" Someone shouted. The woman which I now realized had short black hair and green eyes started, "yes! It is the late king's signature! You cannot deny the proof Victoria." She handed the papers to me with a smile. "It would seem that the throne is no longer yours." She said to my grandmother.

"This is outrageous! I got the throne since no one claimed it."

"I'm claiming it right now." I said. My grandmother scowled, but whispered,

"The deadline has passed." She said.

"Don't make up excuses, Victoria. It's too late." A man shouted from the front row. The queen looked at me with fury in her eyes, and then smiled.

"So are you going to kill me?" She asked.

"What! Of course not!" I replied. Why would I kill her? The woman who had been holding the files looked at me gravely, almost like she had plucked the question right out of my brain.

"It's tradition. If an interim heir is kicked out by the current heir they have the option to either kill them or spare them." She said.

That's when I realized that everyone in the room was staring at me waiting for my answer.

"I have a question for her before I make a decision." I said, turning towards the Queen. "Would you send out a kill order for me right now if you were still the ruling heir?" I said. The Queen flashed a grin, dripping with wickedness.

"Of course, dear. I should have killed you two myself." She said.

"Spare her." I whispered. There were gasps from around the room. This wasn't a show of my mercy, but what was the worst she could do to me without an army or a kingdom?

"Wrong decision." She chided, and with that she turned and stalked out of the room.


End file.
